In 2024, Nevada topped the charts with respect to the total dollar figure awarded in connection with so-called nuclear verdicts. A nuclear verdict is a verdict in a civil case against a defendant of at least $10 million.
Altogether, the dollar figure of nuclear verdicts out of the courts in Nevada came to $8.4 billion. Nevada easily beat out neighboring California, which had $6.9 billion in nuclear verdicts. Other states in the top five were not even close to Nevada’s total.
With respect to the number of nuclear verdicts awarded. Nevada did not rank among the top three states in 2024.
The driver behind Nevada’s high numbers relates to a mammoth verdict last fall against the corporation behind a bottled water product.
The allegation was that the bottled water included a dangerous chemical in it. After hearing the case, the jury awarded $5 billion in punitive damages against the company plus $230 million in compensation.
Across the country, nuclear verdicts totaled $31.3 billion, meaning that Nevada verdicts accounted for over 25 percent of the dollars awarded in nuclear verdicts in 2024.
Insurance carriers in Nevada should take steps to protect their policyholders
Nuclear verdicts do not just impact the defendants who must figure out how either to pay them or appeal the result. Usually, one or several insurance carriers are also on the hook for these verdicts.
Even one nuclear verdict can put a dent in an insurance carrier’s performance in the state out of which the verdict issued. A verdict that reaches hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars can cause significant financial and reputational problems for a carrier, including, for example, downgrades in their credit ratings or skepticism from would-be investors.
Defending against nuclear verdicts calls for a multi-pronged strategy. One piece of this strategy would include mounting a vigorous legal defense on behalf of a carrier’s policyholder and, when called for, negotiating a reasonable settlement.
